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Is Assembly of First Nations National Chief, Perry Bellegarde, doing his job?

November 30, 2016

Chief Harry St. Denis of Wolf Lake First Nation wants to know if National Chief, Perry Bellegarde, has been accountable to the chiefs assembly that met last December in Gatineau.

He is asking the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) to tell him whether a resolution opposing the Zibi condo development, which passed at last year’s Special Chiefs Assembly, went to the government officials it was supposed to go to.

“The AFN Resolutions Update Report says ‘a letter of support was drafted.’ So was the letter sent to the identified parties? If not, why not and if so I would like a copy of the letter,” Chief St. Denis wrote in a Nov. 25 letter to the National Chief.

To date, Chief St. Denis has received no acknowledgement of or reply to his letter.

Last year’s resolution was the subject of controversy over charges that staff of Windmill Development Group were attempting to influence chiefs over the resolution. AFN rules required Bellegarde to communicate the resolution “by letter to the governments of Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Ottawa, Gatineau, the National Capital Commission and the Windmill Development Group.”

Chief St. Denis is concerned that the letter was never sent because neither he nor other Algonquin chiefs who voted in support of the resolution received a copy of the letter and because a recent update report from the AFN on this subject says, “As directed, a letter of support was drafted…”

His 3-page letter to Bellegarde, Chief St. Denis provides an update on the chiefs’ ongoing opposition to the condo project and their discussions with the National Capital Commission. He also says: